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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Asian Art / Roman Carnelian Intaglio of Fortuna with Cornucopia and Rudder
Roman, Imperial period. An oval intaglio cut from translucent, ruby-red carnelian. It is engraved with a standing figure of Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck and fate. She wears a long, belted robe that falls in fine vertical folds, and a wreath circles her head. In one arm she cradles a cornucopia, the horn of plenty, and with the other hand she holds a ship's rudder, the sign that she steered the course of human affairs. The engraver used a wheel and abrasives to cut the image as a recessed mirror image, so it reads correctly when pressed into wax or clay. Stones like this were usually set in finger rings. They worked as personal seals and probably also as small charms for good fortune. This intaglio has the usual flat face and slightly bevelled edge of Roman gems. Fortuna was one of the most popular subjects for engraved gems in the Roman Empire. The standing figure holding a cornucopia and rudder was well established by the 1st century CE and was repeated on coins and gems across the Roman world. Together the two attributes stand for plenty and guidance. Over time Fortuna also merged with the Greek goddess Tyche, and with Isis in her Isis-Fortuna form. That is why many carvings of the type are hard to name exactly when the details are worn or roughly cut. Carnelian was valued in Roman times because it is warm in color, takes a high polish, and releases sealing wax cleanly. It was the most common stone used for everyday seal-rings. Item # 204837
Estimate:$300
To the auctionView all items fromArtemis Fine ArtsorAsian Art
Estimate:
$300
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